North Korean cheerleaders arrive for Winter Olympics

A North Korean delegation set to visit the South will not meet with US officials during the upcoming PyeongChang Olympics, a DPRK Ministry of Foreign Affairs official was quoted as saying on Thursday.

"We clearly state that we don't have a willingness to meet with the USA side during our visit to South Korea".

North Korea's showcasing of its military might, complete with goose-stepping soldiers, came after Vice President Mike Pence said after meeting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday that the White House would soon unveil "the toughest and most aggressive round of economic sanctions on North Korea ever" for its missile and nuclear weapons programs.

South Korean media had speculated North Korea would create another sanctions-related headache by insisting on sending its senior officials via the USA -boycotted Air Koryo.

Ellina Mhlanga Sports ReporterAFTER a historical participation at the Winter Olympic Games in 2014, Zimbabwe will this year not be among the participants at the global showpiece starting tomorrow in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

TERRY: Well, we don't know a whole lot, but we do know that she isKim Jong Un's younger sister.

Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), on Thursday supervised over a grand military parade displaying the country's most powerful weapons, including the Hwasong 15 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), state television reported.

Diplomats said they expected a green light from the council, where many countries are supportive of the rapprochement between North and South Korea during the Olympic Games.

"There are no plans to meet with any North Korean officials during or after the Olympics; I want to be clear about that". However, Pence has not ruled out meeting with North Korean leaders during the games.

In this image taken from video footage, North Korean military personnel salute as they lay flowers in front of giant statues of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il on Mansu Hill in central Pyongyang, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018.

South Korea sent a chartered plane to bring North Korean skiers. "One of the positives of her visit is that she is someone able to deliver a direct message on behalf of Kim Jong-Un", said Shin Beom-chul, a professor at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy in Seoul.

Kim Yo Jong and Kim Jong Un were born to the same mother, Ko Yong Hui.

Kim Yo-jong holds a key role in North Korea's propaganda department, and she isan alternate member of the country's ruling politburo committee.

It was the first direct South Korean flight to North Korea since 2015, when South Korean labor unionists flew to Pyongyang for a goodwill soccer match.

If Pence were to meet Kim Yong Nam, he would be the most senior US official to meet a North Korean leader since President Bill Clinton met Vice Marshal Jo Myong Rok, a special envoy of Kim Jong Un's father, Kim Jong Il, at the White House in October 2000.